Last week(W5-2024), the overall FBX index closed at 3393$, -1% WoW.
Transpacific head hauls:
China/East Asia – North America West Coast sits at 4367$ (+7% WoW);
China/East Asia – North America East Coast closed at 6373$ (+4% WoW);
Cross Suez head hauls:
China/East Asia – North Europe: 5097$ (-7% WoW) ;
China/East Asia – Mediterranean: 6212$, (-4% WoW)
The overall index for the same month last year (2023) was at 2061$.
Red Sea crisis hits ship recycling market (link)
Middle East hostilities and decisions by many owners to re-route ships around the Cape of Good Hope is shoring up markets and keeping freight rates above expectations, which does not equate to good news for ship recycling markets.
The Law and Practice of Container Shipping (link)
The evolution of container shipping has played a crucial role in transforming international trade and shipping, making it more efficient, cost-effective, and interconnected. Today, container shipping is ubiquitous and efficient.
Red Sea shipping disruptions ripple through Asia-Europe supply chains (link)
Cargo shipments between Asia and Europe are being disrupted by continued attacks on vessels in the Red Sea, and that’s starting to have an economic impact.
Most shipping lines have diverted away from the Red Sea since attacks by Houthi rebels started in November and are taking the much longer route around South Africa. That extends journeys by a week and increases fuel costs, insurance fees and crew wages.
Cargo processed at South Korean seaports for exports and imports rose 1 percent on-year in 2023 amid signs of a recovery in the country’s exports, the oceans ministry said Monday.
Export-import cargo handled at the ports nationwide came to 1.32 billion tons last year, compared with 1.31 billion tons a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries.
UNCTAD highlights global trade crisis amid maritime disruptions (link)
The UN’s trade and development agency, UNCTAD, has expressed deep concerns over the increasing disruptions affecting global trade.
According to the agency, recent assaults on vessels in the Red Sea, along with geopolitical strains in the Black Sea region and the repercussions of climate change on the Panama Canal, are contributing to a multifaceted crisis impacting essential trade corridors.
Jan Hoffmann, who leads trade logistics at UNCTAD, presented a comprehensive evaluation of the circumstances during the UN’s daily media briefing on 26 January. He highlighted the pivotal role of maritime transport in global trade, which accounts for about 80% of the worldwide movement of goods.
China, Bangladesh Battle for UK Import Supremacy (link)
China and Bangladesh are two of the top garment exporting countries in the world, ranking No. 1 and No. 3, respectively, per Statistica. For the past few months, the two heavyweights have been battling it out to be the top exporter of readymade garments (RMG) to the United Kingdom.
Bangladesh came out on top, beating out China and earning the top apparel exporter position in the UK market four times between January and November last year, per data compiled by the trade statistics of the UK government. In the January-November period of 2023, Bangladesh’s apparel export earnings surpassed China in January, March, April and May.
VN warned of barriers facing farm exports, told to improve quality (link)
The Vietnam Trade Office in Belgium and the EU have pointed out the EU’s new regulation on emergency and temporary measures to ensure food safety applied to certain imports.
Vietnam’s pepper, instant noodles and durian exports to the EU will be subject to border supervision with examination frequency rates of 50, 20 and 10 percent, respectively.
This is the first time that Vietnam’s durian exports to the EU have had to be inspected at border gates to look for plant protection chemical residue of 10 percent.
Also under the new regulation, dragon fruit will still be in Appendix II (Vietnam-issued certificate for quality is additionally required) with inspection frequency rates of 50 and 20 percent at the EU border gates.
In 2023, the EU issued warnings of violations to Vietnam’s farm exports.
French industrial output continues its rebound (link)
A brighter start to 2024
French industrial production rebounded sharply in December, rising by 1.1% over the month, following on from November’s increase (+0.5% over the month). The data are also good in the manufacturing industry sub-sector, where production is up by 1.2% over the month (after +0.2% in November). The manufacture of transport equipment, industrial products and agri-foodstuffs all rose sharply in December. On the other hand, production fell in the equipment goods manufacturing branch. All in all, between the end of 2022 and the end of 2023, French manufacturing output rose by 0.3%.
Korea: Industrial production decelerated mildly in December but with encouraging details (link)
Semiconductors and vehicle output gained solidly while consumption and construction investment contracted. We expect manufacturing and exports to continue to take the driver seat but sluggish private consumption and construction will drag down overall growth in the current quarter
China: January PMI edged up but remained in contraction (link)
PMI edged up slightly, showing a smaller contraction
We got our first look at China’s 2024 activity data with the January manufacturing PMI. The headline number of 49.2 was slightly weaker than our forecast of 49.5, but trended in the expected direction, up from 49.0 in Dec 2023.
The Chinese manufacturing sector remains under pressure amid a weak domestic recovery and poor external demand. The manufacturing PMI has been under 50 for 9 of the past 10 months.
Australian inflation drops sharply in December (link)
A further large fall in Australian inflation will encourage thoughts of earlier and perhaps more aggressive easing by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) this year. But the good news on inflation might be less frequent from now on, and this might not be the right time to jump on the bandwagon
Philippine GDP beats expectations but falls short of revised growth target (link)
Fourth quarter GDP settles at 5.6%
Philippine fourth quarter GDP for 2023 settled at 5.6% year-on-year, down slightly from the upwardly revised third quarter reading of 6.0%. As expected, household spending took care of the heavy lifting, expanding by 5.3% YoY while capital formation made a surprise comeback, surging 11.2% YoY after a quarter in contraction. A bit disappointing was the 1.2% YoY decline in government outlays which had been a source of growth in the previous quarter.
On a quarter-on-quarter basis, the economy expanded 2.1%. The fourth quarter GDP growth rate took full-year 2023 GDP to a similar 5.6% YoY, which unfortunately was below the lower end of the official government growth target of 6-7%.
EU plans curbs on Ukraine farm imports to calm angry farmers (link)
BRUSSELS, Jan 31 (Reuters) – The European Commission on Wednesday proposed measures to limit agricultural imports from Ukraine and offer greater flexibility on rules for fallow land in a bid to quell protests by angry farmers in France and other EU members.
The Commission said it would extend the suspension of import duties on Ukrainian exports for another year to June 2025. They were originally suspended in 2022 to support Ukraine’s economy following the Russian invasion, which has hit shipments via the traditional Black Sea route.
US recovered paper exports, value down through most of 2023 (link)
India, Thailand and Mexico are the top three buyers; only two countries increased imports from same period in 2022.
U.S. exports of recovered paper decreased in both volume and value from January to November 2023 compared with the same period in 2022, according to the latest figures from the Paper Stock Industries (PSI) chapter of the Washington-based Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI) and the U.S. International Trade Commission.
Why Biden’s LNG Pause Has Allies Worried (link)
The Biden administration’s “pause” on future approvals for the export of U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) has enraged Republicans, spooked overseas allies that are increasingly reliant on affordable U.S. energy, and raised questions about the long-term future of the world’s newest energy powerhouse.
